Page 56 of Duke, Actually
“I’m sorry, Max.” Dani spoke quietly, without the fraught expressions of outrage or shock he didn’t want.
He was glad he’d told her. He was glad she was here.
And, idiot that he was, he suddenly realized he was still holding her hand. Clutching it as if it were a lifeline—perhaps it was. He let go, which was more difficult than he would have expected, and grabbed the Veuve to pour refills. “Drink up. This is getting warm.”
“I have one more question.”
“All right.” He didn’t really want to answer any more questions, but he could not deny her something that was so easy to give.
“Is it possible things will get better after your father dies? How old is he?” She winced. “I sound like I’m wishing for him to die.”
“It’s all right. It’s a fair question. My father is fifty-three. He’s in remarkably good health despite the fact that he’s practically pickled in vodka. And to answer your other question, I suppose in one sense, life will be easier when he’s gone. But it is difficult for me to convey how much I donotwant to be the duke. Not to be melodramatic, but the idea of inheriting feels like...”
“Feels like what?”
“Locking myself up and throwing away the key.” He snorted. “Listen to me. I sound like a princess trapped in a tower.”
“How would a princess trapped in a tower get out?”
“Well, I think traditionally, a prince would come and rescue her.”
“And you had a princess, didn’t you? But instead of rescuing you, she’s going to marry a cabdriver from the Bronx.”
“She is indeed.”
Chapter Eleven
Things were much less fraught back in the room. They ordered room service. The McMuffins had been delicious, but Max was still hungry. Apparently too much truth telling worked up an appetite. As Dani divided the steak they’d ordered to share, he perused her Netflix account on the hotel TV.
“What shall we watch? ProbablyDirty Dancing, yes?” He squinted at the diverse array of films on her list. “First in your queue isLove Actually.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s always there. I love that movie—I’ve seen it dozens of times—but it’s a Christmas movie, so we can’t watch it.”
“Incorrect. We can do whatever we want.”
“Yeah, but Christmas only runs from December 11 to January 6, remember?”
“Ah, yes. I see the dilemma.” He read the synopsis. “I’ve never seen it.”
“Really?Oh, it’s so good. And so bad. It’s complicated.”
“It stars Emma Thompson? Sold.”
“But—”
“You don’t have to watch it.” He pressed play. “I’m going to, though. You can do your own thing.”
He wasn’t sure what was more enjoyable, the movie itself or Dani’s running commentary on it. “I think the problem,” she pronounced when they were about two-thirds through, “is that everyone thinks this is a romantic comedy and judges it accordingly. But it’snota rom-com. If anything, it’s a romantic tragedy. I mean, some of the stories turn out, but even among those, there are some that are hella problematic. Like, I don’t want to spoil anything, but there’s one in particular that seems all sweet, but when you think about it, you’re like, ‘How isthatgoing to work out?’ You’ll see.”
“Is this movie actually controversial?” It was reading as benign enough to him. Charming in parts, sad in others, populated with a lot of well-liked English actors.
“In certain circles.” She nodded at the TV. “Like this part coming up. Everyone I know says it’s creepy and stalkerish. And I guess if you explain what’s literally happening—this guy has been in love with his best friend’s girlfriend all this time and now he’s about to tell her when there’s no way it will end well—yeah, it’s creepy.” Max watched as the character in question knocked on Keira Knightley’s door and, when she answered, silently flipped through a series of placards proclaiming his love for her.
“But if you look at what’s actuallyhappening,” Dani went on, shaking her finger at the TV, “if you look at the way they look at each other, it’s not that creepy. He knows it’s never happening. He knows he’s been a dick about it. He knows she knows he knows.It’s his way of closing the door on it, saying he’s going to be less of a dick going forward. I think it’s actually rather lovely. I like that line, ‘At Christmas you tell the truth.’”
“Being less of a dick,” Max said. “Something to aspire to.”
She threw a pillow at him. He caught it and watched her watch the rest of the scene.